Sandwich with a Side of Friendship
by smirking-muse
Summary: Pansy hates university, but Hermione might be able to change her mind. A slow friendship forms between the two that later transforms into something else. Warnings: AU, Slash
1. Chapter 1

"I hate it here."

The words startled Hermione. It was strange enough to be starting university without the friends she had known for years. Most people were friendly, pleasant, and vague when she began speaking with them, but this one was different.

"Well, why don't you like it here?" she questioned, hoping that the other girl was just having a bad day.

"It's just-" she stops and sighs. "Everything's so different here. I mean, even the chips are too thin. I just wish I was back at home."

"Er, I'm sorry to hear that. I've really liked being here, but I guess I am more used to Britain. Where is home for you?"

"France. Well, my parents are both British. I've never lived here before though. You probably can't tell- my parents gave me their accent. It's just-" she stopped and turned to the customer. "What can I get for you?"

The lack of even a fake smile surprised Hermione. Both she and the other girl had recently taken up shifts at the local deli to earn money while at university. Hermione found that a smile would ease the customer as they made their orders, but Pansy seemed fairly unconcerned with the customers' sentiments. Pansy did her job and nothing more. Hermione had been trying very hard to make friends and had been talking to everyone she met.

After the customer had their egg salad on dark rye with Muenster, tomatoes, and lettuce, the deli began to fill up with college students coming in for a late snack. It was a popular hang out. Hermione was forced to return to her station and Pansy to making sandwiches.

Finally, after gruelling hours of work, their shifts were over. As they hung up their aprons and caps, Hermione asked Pansy where she lived, and after discovering that they lived in nearby dormitories, they decided to walk back together.

After some idle chat, Hermione turned to Pansy and asked, "Hey, do you want to get lunch sometime?"

She wasn't sure why she wanted to have lunch with this depressed girl, but maybe she could convince her that Britain was worth being in. Maybe she could make a new friend. Despite the question, she was slightly shocked when Pansy smiled and said, "I'd love to."

"A-alright," Hermione stuttered, "My email is hgranger. Just send me a line when you are free, and we'll do lunch." The image of Pansy's smile branded into her mind, but she doubted that the girl would ever get in touch with her.

She was started again, when the very next day she had an email from Pansy asking if she was free the day after. She quickly responded with a yes and suggested that they meet in the dining hall in between their residences. She pencilled the appointment into her planning book.

The next day, as promised, Pansy was there. In fact, Pansy was there every Monday as they met up for lunch. Hermione strayed away from all topics pertaining to Britain on the whole and mostly spoke about classes. As it turned out, both adored history though neither had explored the curious place housing those classes. It was rumoured that the building had many secrets, including hidden bedrooms and full bathrooms. Everyone claimed that they had to be found on one's own and were unwilling to share any knowledge they may have about their locations.

After several weeks of lunching and working together, Hermione and Pansy made arrangements to explore the history building one Friday night. Lunches had been much more pleasant than Hermione would have imagined; Pansy seemed like the type unsatisfied with everything, but her dissatisfaction seemed limited to the country and people other than Hermione. Somehow, the tenuous relationship seemed easy and well worth the effort. Eventually, Pansy seemed like one of Hermione's greatest friends.

That week, Friday came sooner than Hermione would have thought. Carefully preparing herself for reasons she was unsure of, Hermione looked prettier than she had in a while when she met Pansy at the academic building.

Pansy looked her over slowly from where she sat at the steps leading into the deserted building. It seemed as though no one would want to come to the building on a Friday night, but perhaps that was some of the appeal to the two girls.

They began on the first floor, opening every door that wasn't locked at first. Eventually, they tired of seeing rows of desks upon desks and began to doodle on the chalkboards.

"Are those ducks?"

"What?! Are you kidding?" Hermione questioned uncertainly.

"No," Pansy giggled, "I'm serious. Are those du- or wait, no, I see it now. Those are acorns!"

Hermione burst out with a loud guffaw. "No, Pansy, those are supposed to be pansies!" she exclaimed between laughs. "See- these are the petals, and those are the stems."

"Oh," Pansy sobered. "I think I see them now."

"No, you don't, you liar," Hermione elbowed her. "It's alright. Chalk illustrations are not my forte."

Pansy's face crinkled into a smile and she burst out with another laugh. "What are your strengths, then, my friend?" she inquired.

"Ah, well, that's simple. I'm quite intelligent. It's just a fact, really," she pauses to think. "I am also amazing at walking, as you have seen."

"Walking, eh?" Pansy raised her eyebrow. "How do you figure?"

"Well, I very rarely fall. I take millions of steps very accurately every day," she managed to get out before falling over with laughter. She wasn't very funny, but Pansy and she were mightily amused. One girl's laugh would start the other's; it was a never-ending cycle.

"Oh, my stomach- it's cramping!" Hermione cried out. "Stop laughing! You're ruining me."

Hermione clamped one hand on Pansy's shoulder, though the other remained clutching her stomach.

"Why don't we find somewhere to sit?" Pansy asked between laughs.

"Excellent proposition. Do let's," Hermione congratulated Pansy with an arm around her shoulder. Her arm remained there even after they had found a couch and settled down there.

After regaining their composure, they chatted about their courses, professors they liked and disliked, and other academic topics. Eventually, they sat with their feet up on the couch, knees touching, staring face to face, and engaged in somewhat meaningless conversation. Hermione began animatedly speaking with her hands about the injustices of the grading system and professorial wage differences between departments, when Pansy cut her off.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to thank you."

"For what, Pansy?"

"For being my… friend. This year has been bearable because I met you."

"I- thanks, Pansy. I was just happy you accepted my invitation to lunch." Hermione's knees fell down, and she turned to face outward.

"How could I not? You're like sunshine on a cloudy day."

"What?" Hermione's face turned toward Pansy in surprise.

"I- I've had a hard time adjusting to being here. I was absolutely miserable and perfectly content to stay that way. You pulled me out of it, and I was happy to go along for the ride. Monday lunches with you have been the highlight of- well, at least my year so far. You're my personal sunshine."

"You're not so bad yourself," Hermione joked, trying to diffuse the suddenly serious blanket that has fallen over them. "Although, I will agree that I am basically amazing."

Pansy laughed and laid her head on Hermione's shoulder. "I'm so glad I met you," she whispered.

"Me too," Hermione whispered back. Hermione laid her head over the other girl's. "Me too," she whispered again.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione returned to her room, marvelling at the evening's events. Though they had failed to find the hidden rooms, Pansy and she had enjoyed themselves.

Before entering her room, she took a deep breath. No one knew how exactly they decided where incoming students would room, but the system seemed arbitrary, as though an inanimate object could have decided their fate. Hermione's situation was consistently tense, and she tried to avoid being in the room as much as she could.

After walking into the room, Lavender and Parvati quickly glanced up from their current task but didn't greet her. The two girls had quickly become friends, and Hermione had become the third wheel. They seemed very similar to each other, and it meant that Hermione was the one who got the brunt of any ill-will in the room. Hermione was stilled a little riled up from her evening and knew they wouldn't let her turn the light off to sleep, so she walked over to her movies. She thought she might just pop on _Four Weddings and a Funeral_, but when she looked through her DVDs, she could not find it.

A quick glance over to Parvati's desk told her it was sitting over there. Hermione wasn't sure if she should say anything. She looked more closely at their current task. They also had acquired her markers from her desk, and it appeared that they were colouring signs for someone. All her good feelings from earlier dissipated, Hermione swiftly stalked over to the other two girls.

"May I please have my movie and markers returned?" she asked through her teeth, staring at the movie.

"You can have the movie," Lavender proclaimed graciously, "but these markers are mine."

"Then why are there 'HG's on the ends?" Hermione intoned, seeing red.

Parvati giggled, as though it was funny to take other people's things without asking. Hermione was happy to share, but she did want to be asked. It was one of the first things she had told her roommates when they had gone over the list of questions that were supposed to transform them into perfect mates. This was one of her only pet peeves. Would it be so difficult to ask? Apparently, it would be.

"You know what? Fine," Hermione fumed. "Borrow my markers. I can't take this anymore." Perhaps she was overreacting, but this was just infuriating. She snatched the movie off the desk and went over to her bed.

"Oh, Hermione," Lavender said sweetly. "Will you be around tomorrow?"

Hermione didn't trust herself to speak, so she nodded.

"Oh, good," she responded. "Parvati and I will be going to some parties, and we don't the room to look messy if we should bring someone back." They glanced at each other and giggled some more. "Do you think you could vacuum and straighten up a little?"

Hermione did not even glance at them. She was ready to throttle them! They both came from families where maids were the norm, and she was used to doing her own cleaning. Since she had straightened up and vacuumed a few times, they now treated her like a maid. She stormed out of the room, movie still in her hand.

After walking out into the hallway, she fought away some angry tears and took a few deep breaths. Once she was calm enough to see straight, she walked down to the boys' side of the dorms. As soon as she got to the room she was looking for, she knocked on the door.

"Come in," a deep voice said. It was probably Neville. His desk was closest to the door. She did not know Neville well, but he seemed to get along with Ron and Harry well.

She opened the door. "Hi, Neville," she said at seeing him. At her voice, Harry looked up from his computer.

"Hermione? Is everything okay?" Harry asked concernedly.

"No," Hermione's lip shook. "I can't take it anymore. They keep taking my things- thank goodness I wrote my initials on just about everything or I would never get anything back. And now, they are asking me to clean for them. As though they couldn't run the vacuum themselves!" By now, tears were dripping down her face. Harry walked over to where she was and put his arms around her.

He wasn't very good at this kind of thing, but he did try. "Shh," he said softly. "There, there. It will be okay."

"No, it won't," Hermione replied through her tears. "I can't do it anymore! I just- I can't."

Ron walked into the room right about then. He took in the scene: Neville at his computer, pretending nothing was happening, but looking uncomfortable, and Harry with his arms around a crying Hermione.

"What's going on, Harry?" Ron whispered. He looked pretty confused.

"It's just my horrible roommates! How do they decide this rooming thing anyway?" Hermione answered for Harry.

"Ah," Ron said. "Well, we can easily go and take them out for you if you'd like."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Hermione laughed, though it came out as a choked sound through her tears. Hermione took a couple deep breaths and wiped her eyes. She felt better now that she was among friends and had gotten it out. The friendly hug helped too.

"Well," Harry grinned. "While I'm sure Ron's idea has a lot of merit, I think what you really need to do is move out of that room. If you go talk to the director of our dorm, McGonagall, I think her name is, she should be able to help you find a new room. You'll probably need a roommate though. You're welcome to stay on our floor as much as you'd like."

"You can borrow my sleeping mat for tonight if you'd like," Neville spoke, seemingly much more comfortable.

"Thanks," Hermione replied. "I'll definitely take you up on that tonight."

"I still think we should just take them out," Ron mumbled. "Then we'd have a nice, big party room." They all laughed, the tension released.

"Oh," she said. "I brought a movie."


	3. Chapter 3

On Monday, Hermione decided to track down McGonagall to find out about new rooms. She finally found the director's office and had to wait since she had not scheduled an appointment. Eventually, she was ushered into McGonagall's office, a somewhat plain room with many bookshelves. This was Hermione's kind of haven, and she was immediately relaxed. The books drew her eyes to them, and the paper smell comforted her. McGonagall was an older woman with glasses and a comforting smile. She appeared to be the type that could be strict but was also easy to relate to.

"Ms. Granger- do you mind if I call you Hermione?" she smiled.

"Hermione is fine."

"Alright, Hermione. You may call me "Minerva' if you like."

"Thank you, Mr-Minerva," Hermione said.

"So, Hermione, what may I help you with?"

"Well, I have a roommate problem," Hermione began.

"This is not uncommon for the first year roommates. It can be a haphazard system, which sometimes works well and other times does not," Minerva explained. "What exactly is your problem?"

"Well, I just- we just- we don't get along well at all," Hermione told her, her eyes tearing up. "I know that there are probably some things we should try, but I don't think I can stay in that room anymore."

"I would be happy to do some counseling for you," Minerva said kindly.

"All due respect, I think we are far past counseling," Hermione responded sadly. "I'd like to move out."

"Well, if you're sure-"

"I'm sure," Hermione said firmly. "I want to know what my options are."

"Alright, Hermione, let me take a look at our openings," Minerva said while she reached around into the papers on her desk. "Here we are. There are two doubles with a space. Or if you can find a roommate, I have one double completely open. You can also try to find someone to switch with."

Hermione felt overwhelmingly relieved at hearing she had options. "I'm not sure that I can find someone to live with me. Is there a way I could move into the double alone?" she questioned.

"No, I'm sorry. If we don't have two people moving in together, we like to leave it open for returning students in the spring," she responded. "You may check with the people in doubles alone- sometimes students don't return or have moved out, so there are spaces in those. If the fit looks good, I would suggest you move into one of those."

After thanking her profusely, Hermione got the room numbers and immediately headed up to the first room. Her heart hammering in her chest, Hermione knocked on the door.

"Hello?" the girl opened the door.

"Hi. My name is Hermione. I know this might sound strange, but I'm in a bit of a bind. I need to move out of my current room, and there are only a couple rooms I could move into. I was hoping I might be able to room with you, as long as it looks like it will work. I- I'm really clean, and I don't spend too much time in the room- I'm usually in the library. You'd hardly notice me," Hermione rattled off, the speed of her speech somewhat overwhelming.

"Er- I'm sorry. My room's tiny, and I'd really rather stay by myself to be honest," the girl replied. "I don't want to be mean, but I do like living alone."

"Oh, okay, no problem. I didn't mean to bother. Thank you anyway!" Hermione tried to smile, though her heart fell.

She bravely headed to the next room, but received the same kind of response, though delivered in less kind of a way. She felt as though all her hopes had been dashed. She was trying to decide what to do when she looked at the time. She realized she was late for her lunch with Pansy and dashed down to the dining hall.

"Hermione!" Pansy called to her. "I was worried about you- you're never late!" She moved over to her and took in her appearance. "Are you alright? You look flushed."

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Pansy," Hermione said, still gasping from her run. "I had a busy morning and lost track of the time." Hermione was already feeling better; Pansy had a soothing effect on her. It seemed like she could put aside her problems for a little while.

"Oh? What were you doing?"

"Just stuff," Hermione replied, hoping to avoid talking about it. She knew that if she did, she would probably cry.

"What kind of stuff? Good stuff?"

"No. Not really," Hermione sighed.

"Want to talk about it? I might be able to help," Pansy said worriedly.

"I doubt it. It's just that I can't handle my roommates anymore. I want to move out, but I can't find anywhere to go," she sighed.

"Did you talk to your director?" Pansy asked.

"Yes, she gave me a couple rooms with openings, but the current residents didn't want a roommate. There's another room, but I'd have to have a roommate. I don't know what I'm going to do- I have to get out of there. I can't sleep in there, and I have trouble sleeping elsewhere. It's starting to affect my schoolwork. Maybe I'll try to find someone to swap with."

"I'll room with you," Pansy said, as though it were nothing.

"Are you sure? Don't you like your roommates?" Hermione questioned disbelievingly.

"Well, my roommates are okay. I kind of only have one. We have two doubles with a big common area in between. My roommate and I aren't particularly close. We don't have any problems, but well, I like you better anyway."

"That sounds so nice though! The room that we would get is closet-sized. You wouldn't have much space. I know you like your dorm too- I don't want you to have to leave," Hermione said. It sounded as though she was trying to talk Pansy out of it, but she wanted to make sure it was really okay with the other girl.

"Yeah, it's nice, but I'm sure we'll make this work. I'd like to room with you," Pansy insisted. Hermione jumped and enveloped Pansy in a hug. She felt her eyes welling up with tears; she usually never cried, but things had just been so emotional lately.

"Oh, Pansy," she choked. "You're the best! We'll go talk to Minerva tomorrow! I'm so excited- aren't you hungry?"

"Yes," Pansy grimaced, "but not for the compost they serve at this school."


	4. Chapter 4

"Boo!"

Hermione jumped and quickly turned around to see who had surprised her.

"Pansy! You scared me!" she said with her hand on her chest, trying to calm her heart.

"Guess what?!" Pansy asked, huge smile on her face. It still amazed Hermione every time Pansy smiled; her face would light up, and the effect made her look stunningly beautiful, to Hermione anyway. She had a hard time reconciling this happy girl with the bitter, hardened girl she had met a month ago. Though she would like to think it was largely due to her influence, she could not be certain. She was never quite sure where she stood with Pansy. She assumed that one day, Pansy would become as disgusted by her as she still was about the country and their chips (of all things).

"What, Pansy?" Hermione complied.

"I'm moving into our room today!"

"_We're_ moving you into our room," Hermione corrected. "I hate moving boxes."

"Oh," Pansy said softly. "Well, if you don't want to help…"

"Stop it. Don't be silly. Of course I'm helping," Hermione told her with a wave of her hand that barred arguments. "It would just be nice if we had some boyfriends to do the moving for us."

"Well, I can understand that. Maybe someday," Pansy smiled, a little tightly. Her face got brighter at a new thought. "I can't wait to sleep in our room!"

"Yes," Hermione agreed. "It will be glorious… Almost as glorious as the sandwich this bloke will ask for, I'm sure. I'll let you get back to it." Pansy stuck out her tongue at Hermione before asking the customer what kind of sandwich he would like. Ever the mature couple of friends, they continued to stick their tongues out at each other even as they continued doing their assigned work.

That is, until they were giggling too much and Filch, their manager, called out, "Hey, you two, get back to work- or I'm not letting you borrow the van!" The customers looked appreciative at the exclamation, as most had been irritated or confused about what was happening between the employees.

Hermione quickly stuck her tongue out one last time before returning to restocking the digestives. Filch tsked but otherwise let it go.

After work, Hermione skipped over to the parking lot behind the deli. They had asked to borrow the van to move Pansy's furniture from her old dormitory to their new room and luckily Filch had agreed to let them do so.

Their new room was tiny. They had bunked the beds and moved in Hermione's things the day before. Hermione claimed the top bunk, and Pansy would have the bottom. There was only one dresser, one closet, and one bookshelf, although they thankfully had two desks. Space would be tight, but as long as they got along well, it would be enough.

Hermione turned the key into the van and smiled again. Actually, she was unable to stop smiling, because she was so excited about their new room. As she drove over to Pansy's dorm, she thought about how much had changed since the first time she had met her.

Although Pansy was still very quiet and often seemed pretty brooding, Hermione knew she was a good laugh and rather enjoyable. They would have the best times.

As Hermione drove up to the dorm, Pansy waved her down. "What took you so long?" she asked in between hard breaths.

"Seriously? Did you run all the way over here just to beat me?" Hermione asked. They had gotten off shift around the same time, and there was no way Pansy could have gotten there first walking.

"No, I would never! You are simply far too slow," Pansy laughed, holding her side and trying to catch her breath subtly.

Hermione shook her head with a quiet laugh. "Alright," she gave in. "You win this time, but I bet I can still move more boxes than you!"

The two girls ran inside as quickly as they could and began to move boxes. Pansy had a decent amount of things acquired, but it was soon in the van and over to their room. After all the boxes had been moved into the room and the van returned, the two girls lay on the rug exhausted.

"Phew," Hermione sighed. "I think I can conclusively say that I moved more boxes than you."

"No, you didn't! Don't be ridiculous! We carried the same!" Pansy pushed herself up to sitting on the floor.

"Well, sometimes I carried two- or five- at a time," Hermione stated.

"You liar," Pansy smiled. She then moved her arms out and fell face forward onto Hermione's stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

"Ouch!" Hermione exclaimed. "What was that for?!"

"For telling lies, obviously," Pansy rolled her eyes. She left her head nestled on Hermione's stomach. "And now, you shall be my pillow as punishment for your treachery."

Hermione quirked an eyebrow but did not respond. They lay in silence for a little while, and Hermione began to stroke Pansy's hair. Pansy sighed in contentment.

"This is the way life should be," Pansy proclaimed.

"How so?"

"Perfect room, fantastic ceiling, lovely roommate… it just doesn't get any better. Now that I've got you all to myself- do you think you could do some vacuuming tomorrow?" Pansy quirked her eyebrow.

"You horrid little snot!" Hermione said with a barely concealed smile. She playfully pushed Pansy's head off her stomach and rolled on top of her.

"Ha!" she exclaimed. "Now who has the power?"

"Er- you?" Pansy replied. "I could overturn you easily though."

"Oh, could you?" Hermione challenged. "I doubt it." She pushed down on Pansy's shoulders lightly. Pansy quickly grabbed onto Hermione's arms and threw her weight to the side. Sure enough, she had turned them around.

"Oh, it's on!" Hermione exclaimed with a laugh. The two girls began playfully wrestling on the floor. One could only gain supremacy for a few seconds before her victory was upset and turned into defeat. Eventually, they both tired out and lay panting on the floor, sides touching.

"Draw?" Pansy questioned.

"Draw," Hermione agreed. "We are too well-matched."

"Very well-matched indeed," Pansy affirmed.


	5. Chapter 5

"What would you like to do tonight?" Hermione asked.

"Er- I don't know. What would you like?" It was convenient that neither liked going to the stereotypical university parties and preferred to stay in. Fridays had quickly become "their" night, and the two girls would watch a movie, take a walk, or do something similar together. It was never verbalised, but they would never bring over friends or make other plans on Friday night.

"Well, we never did find those hidden rooms. Shall we explore the history centre again tonight?" Hermione suggested.

"Sounds brilliant. Think we can actually find them this time?" Pansy smiled.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's worth another try!" With that, the two girls made their way over to the building. This time, they decided to start at the top. To make things go a bit quicker, they divided up.

"Hey, Pansy!" Hermione called. "Pansy? Come here!"

"What is it?"

"Just- come!"

"Alright, I'm here," Pansy said as she walked over to Hermione. "What have you found?"

"Look!" Hermione told her proudly.

"I'm sorry?" Pansy raised her eyebrows. "I'm not seeing it. Unless you are just impressed by this wall, and if that is the case, well, maybe we should get out more."

"Look, Pansy! This window!" Hermione pointed. "If we can climb up to it, it will take us out onto the roof!"

"Ooh," Pansy smiled deviously. "I see it now! Excellent plan." Hermione held out her hands for Pansy to step up onto the window. After Pansy got up and out onto the roof, she put down her hand to help Hermione up.

"I can't believe we're going out on the roof!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly. "This must be against a million rules!"

Pansy just laughed at her and shook her head, "This was your idea, silly."

"I know," Hermione smiled. "It's still awesome and likely illegal." After they got out onto the roof, which was perfectly large and flat, they carefully shut the window behind them, making sure it didn't lock closed. They walked around on the roof, exploring all edges of it before settling down away from all windows to sit and look up at the stars.

"The night sky is incredible," Hermione sighed.

"Yeah, it is," Pansy agreed.

"I wish I knew some of the constellations. I can make my own, but it just doesn't seem quite the same."

"I can help you there," Pansy said proudly. "Thanks to astronomy class."

Pansy pointed to some stars. "See those?" she asked. "Those are Orion's belt. Those three right there in a line?" Her head moved back and forth between Hermione and the constellation.

"Wait, which three?" Hermione squinted in the direction of Pansy's hand. "There are so many that could be 'those three!'"

"Those over there though- see them?"

"I'm not sure. Are they in a perfect line?"

"Hmm. Here," Pansy said as she began to move. "I'll just sit right behind you so we have the same line of sight." Hermione's back straightened as Pansy moved to put her legs to the other girl's sides and pressed her chest to Hermione's back. She rested her chin on Hermione's shoulder and pointed again. "There, do you see those three?"

"Yes," Hermione whispered, suddenly feeling short of breath. She didn't understand why her heart was beating so fast or why Pansy's breath on her neck was sending shivers down her spine.

"Alright, and those make up Orion's knees and shoulders. See?"

"Yes."

"Alright, and below, a little to the left," Pansy pointed, "is one of Orion's hunting dogs, Canis Major. The other is right over there, Canis Minor. They're fighting the bull there."

"Oh," Hermione turned to look at Pansy. "Thanks," she breathed.

"There are whole stories in the night sky," Pansy told her. "That's one of the reasons I love astronomy. Of course, half the things we learn have nothing to do with constellations."

The girls' eyes locked before Hermione broke the silence. "I had a boyfriend once who tried to show me a constellation. He failed, but I pretended to see what he was pointing at. He was just trying to show me the Big Dipper, but I can see a million of what he described. There and there and there…"

"Oh," Pansy replied as she moved back to sit next to Hermione. "How long ago was that?"

"That was about two years ago. It was an accident," Hermione said, unsure of why she needed to talk about this now.

"What was an accident?" Pansy inquired.

"Me. Dating him," Hermione explained. "I didn't realise he was asking me out at the time. He just asked me to go shopping with him one day, and it went from there. I didn't care for him, but I figured I may as well get the whole dating thing out of the way. He was a terrible snogger, so I tried to avoid it at all costs. We only lasted about two months."

"Ah," Pansy replied. "Well, that's more than I've got. I've never dated anyone."

"No one? Really?" Hermione asked. "I would have assumed you'd had lots of offers."

"None I wanted to take," Pansy said with a frown. "How many blokes have you dated?"

"Two," Hermione told her. "One was after that one. He wasn't much better, but he was very nice. One of those great personalities. I wasn't very into him either, but I thought I'd give it a shot. We ended up dating for maybe three months."

"That didn't last very long either, huh?" Pansy said. "I've never even really fancied anyone before. No one ever appealed to me. I'd always just select a random bloke to pretend to fancy when the occasion called for it. Don't give away my secret though," she winked.

"Well, have you ever snogged anyone?" Hermione asked.

"No," Pansy smirked. "Never found anyone I wanted to before."

"Ah," Hermione said. "Maybe we can find you a nice boy soon and work on that."

"Haha," Pansy laughed. "Maybe."


	6. Chapter 6

Pansy and Hermione almost always ate breakfast with Harry, Ron, and a selection of their other friends, depending on whom was awake and hungry. When they got to the usual table this morning, Harry and Ron were looking much more lively than usual and having an animated discussion.

"What's happening?" Hermione asked as she set her breakfast on the table.

"Well," Ron began dramatically, "rugby teams are organizing right now for the spring season!"

"Rugby?" Pansy questioned as she sat down.

"You know, the sport with the ball and the tackling?" Harry rolled his eyes.

"I know what rugby is," Pansy scoffed. "What about it though?"

"There are teams organised by dorms that we can sign up for," Ron explained. "Harry and I are coaching! Will you two join ours? For Gryffindor?"

"I am not athletic at all," Hermione declined. Pansy looked thoughtful.

"You don't have to be," Harry interjected. "The real sporty people play for the school. This is just for fun. C'mon, you two should do it with us!"

"I don't think so," Hermione replied just as Pansy said, "I'm up for it!"

Hermione turned to Pansy surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah," Pansy nodded. "It should be fun. C'mon, Hermione, let's do it together!"

"Yeah, Hermione, let's do it together!" Ron added helpfully.

"Are you really having that much trouble finding enough people to make up a team?" Hermione asked sceptically.

"Well," Ron replied, "it hasn't exactly been _easy._ But it hasn't been particularly difficult either. Harry and I began discussing strategies this morning! We are going to have the very best team ever, and people will be begging us to let them join." Hermione rolled her eyes at his confidence, but Harry nodded his head very seriously.

"Wouldn't you feel bad competing against your old friends from Slytherin?" Hermione asked Pansy.

"Nah," Pansy smiled. "My friends are here now. With you." She nudged Hermione with her elbow. "Plus, it's more of a friendly contest, so I'm sure they wouldn't hate me for it. Well, _some_ of them can get a little competitive, but I don't think it would be that severe."

Hermione thought about it some more. "You'd have fun, Hermione; you'll see," Harry encouraged.

"Besides, all the best people are doing it," Pansy batted her eyelashes. Hermione snorted.

"Alright, fine," she told them. "I'll do it, but if I don't like it or it gets in the way of my schoolwork, I'm quitting."

"Fair enough," Ron nodded. "Practices are only two times a week. You can leave the strategising to Harry and me. Our first practice is tomorrow morning- we'll send an email later. If either of you know anyone else in Gryffindor that might be interested, bring them with you."

The next morning, Pansy was quickly awake after the alarm went off. She shot up out of bed and stood up. Hermione was still asleep. Pansy whispered, "Hermione?"

There was no response, so Pansy repeated her name louder. Hermione rolled over but did not wake up. Pansy reached out to shake her arm, and Hermione mumbled something at her that sounded somewhat akin to "But I don't want ice cream." Pansy couldn't reach any further to give her another shake.

Pansy sighed and climbed up on the top bunk to grab Hermione by the shoulders when Hermione shot straight up and hit her head against Pansy's.

"Pansy?" she asked groggily. "What are you doing on my bed?"

"Ouch, you git," Pansy smiled, holding her forehead, "I was trying to wake you up! You refused to get up. Ouch, my head _hurts_!"

"I'm sorry," Hermione laughed before taking a glance at the clock. "Why are we up so early? Am I being punished?" She dropped her head back onto the pillow and threw her hand over her eyes.

"No," Pansy told her, "we have practice this morning… for rugby! Don't you remember?"

"Oh, right. Well, I suppose we should both get ready then!"

Hermione jumped down from the bed, while Pansy climbed back down the stairs, still holding her forehead. The two girls rushed to put on some exercise clothes and get out to the fields. When they arrived, there were already 5 or 6 people stretching on the grass. Ron and Harry were scribbling on a piece of paper- probably perfecting a strategy. When they paused and looked up, they waved Hermione and Pansy over.

"Good morning, Coaches," Pansy saluted.

"No disrespect or you'll be running laps into next week!" Ron pretended to scold.

"Watch it- or you'll be losing your best players," Harry smirked.

"Now, Harry, that's hardly fair. We haven't even played yet. Any of these fine Gryffindors could be the best players," Hermione teased.

"I believe it is time to begin," Ron told them. There were only ten others besides Pansy, Hermione, and the two coaches, which meant that everyone would get a lot of playing time. This practice consisted mostly of listening to the rules and then trying the basic passes and mastering the art of only tossing the ball backwards. By the end though, the players were mightily hungry. Breakfast was not served at the ungodly hour they had awoken.

Harry concluded the practice by telling them all good work and that they would be learning the arts of tackling and falling next time. Whoever knew there were right and wrong ways to fall? As the team headed over to breakfast together, Hermione and Pansy asked Ron about tackling.

"I'm a bit worried about this whole tackling bit," Hermione told him.

"It'll be fine, Mione," Ron tried to reassure her. "I doubt the other teams will tackle that hard- and if it worries you, we can try to give you a position where the tackling won't be too common. You might make a good back. For practice, you might want to get a partner not afraid to take you down, so that you'll have the experience and bruise less when you fall."

"Bruise?" Hermione asked disbelievingly.

"Well, bruises top breaks any day," Ron smirked. Hermione threw her hands up into the air, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

"You get to be my tackling partner," Pansy said to Hermione, a glint in her eye.

"If you must, I suppose that would be alright," Hermione replied competitively with a wink. "We already know who is the physically superior between us. Just be prepared to become well-acquainted with the ground."


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione was ready for the next practice. She had laid out her clothes the morning before and set two alarms so that hopefully she could wake up on her own.

When the morning came, it was clear that her planning was for naught. She awoke to Pansy, completely dressed, mumbling as she put Hermione's shirt over her head for her.

"Wa-Wait, Pansy, I can dress myself," Hermione yawned.

"You wouldn't wake up!" Pansy told her. "I think you woke up the rest of the building with those alarms though! I finally gave up on waking you up and thought I'd get you dressed."

"You were dressing me?" Hermione tilted her head and yawned again.

"Well, your clothes were laid out, and we're almost late…" Pansy trailed off. "I- I probably shouldn't have done that. I didn't look at anything!" She hung her head.

"Nah," Hermione comforted. "Don't worry about it, Pansy. I don't mind; I don't have anything you haven't seen before. I assume you left my undergarments on anyway- just like a swimming costume." Hermione paused to yawn and missed when Pansy blushed, staring at her exposed stomach. "We should get going though before we're late!" Hermione pulled on her shirt the rest of the way. The two girls then headed down to the field, Hermione forming plans in her mind as to how she would begin to wake up on her own so early in the morning.

"Good morning!" Harry called out as they approached the field.

"Morning," Hermione mumbled.

"Morning!" Pansy shouted. "Where's Ron?" She looked around. Harry pointed to the ground a couple feet away. "Ah," Pansy said. "I see. He's not very good at waking up either."

"You have trouble waking up?" Ron asked Pansy, his hair dishevelled.

"Nah, Hermione does." Hermione rolled her eyes and yawned.

"Oh, I see," Ron mumbled before laying his head back down.

"You looked quite awake at the first practice- what happened?" Pansy questioned.

"I was excited," Ron ground out.

"Well, get excited, Ron! It's time to start!" Harry shouted, rolling his eyes. Harry then began the practice by demonstrating and explaining how to properly fall. They then took some time to try it out for themselves. Harry and Ron wandered around to help instruct them individually.

"Brilliant fall, Hermione!" Harry encouraged her.

"Oh, bloody fantastic. I have a skill at falling!" Hermione replied sarcastically.

"It will come in handy, Hermione. That's an asset!" Ron called from the other side of the practice, clearly having heard her response.

"Pansy," Hermione whispered. "This still kind of hurts."

"You're falling to the ground- what did you expect?" Pansy rolled her eyes.

"I don't know, but the right way should be less painful right?"

"Oh, it is. You'll see when we start tackling," Pansy winked.

Harry and Ron then reorganised the group and demonstrated how to tackle several times. They then told them to pair off and to take turns.

"Alright," Hermione said. "Shall I g-" She was cut off by Pansy slamming into her and knocking her to the ground.

"You should be prepared for a tackle at anytime," Pansy smirked.

"Ugh," Hermione groaned. "I think you broke something." She wiped off her pants as she stood up. "Oh, wow! Look at Neville and Dean!" Pansy turned and Hermione tackled her to the ground.

"Hah, got you," she smiled. Pansy faked dead, tongue lolling out of her mouth.

"That was a little high, Hermione," Harry instructed. "Also, a tackle is not very effective if you end up on the ground with the other person."

"Sure, Harry," Hermione said, getting back up. "That was just retribution." Harry rolled his eyes and walked away.

She turned back to Pansy, who was still pretending to be dead on the ground. "Alright, Pansy," she crossed her arms. "You've had your fun. Get up and let's do this practice for real."

Pansy continued to fake dead. "I can see you smiling!" Hermione poked her with her foot. Pansy grabbed Hermione's ankle and threw her down on the ground before rolling over on top of her.

"Hah!" she said triumphantly.

"An opponent would never do that in a game!" Hermione objected before rolling them over so that she was on top.

"So? I doubt they would have poked their opponent with their dirty feet either."

"No, you're right. They would stop and clean them off first," Hermione rolled her eyes. Her heart was beating fast, but she reasoned it was from the sudden trip to the ground and not the other girl lying on top of her.

"You make a lovely pillow," Hermione sighed as she laid her head on Pansy's chest. "I'll just take a little nap."

"Shouldn't we be practicing tackling?" Pansy questioned, glancing around nervously.

"Harry and Ron are tied up with others, and everyone else is busy practising. We're over on this side all by ourselves. We can practice later," Hermione reasoned. "I'm sleepy right now." She put her head back down.

"Your heart is racing, Pansy," Hermione informed her.

"Hmm, maybe because I just got tackled to the ground and now am being used as a pillow against my will!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Pansy," Hermione scolded before picking up her head. When she looked up, she was staring directly into Pansy's eyes and was mere inches from the other girl's face.

They both froze, looking for something but not quite sure what- until they heard Ron say, "However did you_ both_ end up on the ground? I want to see some tackling ladies!"

After sticking her tongue out at Ron, Hermione stood up and held out her hand to Pansy. Once they were both off the ground, they began to try some real tackling. By the end of practice, they had many bruises and a mean tackle.

"Excellent practice today!" Harry announced to the assembled team. "Our first game is coming up very soon- next Friday to be exact, in the early afternoon. We'll be emailing the schedule to you all later."

"That's so soon!" someone called out. "How will we be ready in time?"

"Don't worry," Harry told them. "You now have learned the most basic things. We'll work on some basic strategies next practice and then have a 'game' amongst ourselves for the one following. No other team was allowed to start before we did, and they are all playing someone on Friday. You'll do well, and we will be victorious!" A cheer went up from the team before they dispersed and headed to breakfast.

"I'm not sure about a game! I don't think I'll be ready," Hermione told Pansy uncertainly.

"We'll practice on our own, Hermione," Pansy comforted and put an arm around Hermione's shoulders. "We'll be the best ruggers ever!"

"We'll see about that," Hermione laughed.


	8. Chapter 8

"That was exhilarating!" Pansy squealed as she threaded her arm through Hermione's.

"I bruised in places I didn't know existed," Hermione winced but threw an arm around Pansy's shoulders anyway.

"Brilliant game today," Ron said as he raced to catch up with the two girls. Harry was not far behind him.

"I can't believe we won against Ravenclaw! It seemed as though they had done a lot of planning and strategising," Harry shook his head.

"But we had the _best_ strategies! Our careful planning and hard work dictated our victory!" Ron said proudly.

"Right, if you can call being generally braver and falling well a strategy," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Taking a tackle is an important part of the game. They should have been anticipating them more," Ron sniffed.

"Hah, it appeared as though they had tried to learn to play straight from a book, and the actual game did not match their expectations," Pansy interjected.

"We can only hope the other teams will be so easy. Are you two coming to the celebration party tonight?" Harry asked.

"Er, I don't know," Hermione said, looking to Pansy.

"Sure," Pansy replied.

"But it's Friday!" Hermione whispered.

"So what? There's nothing special about Fridays," Pansy whispered back.

"Nothing special?!" Hermione threw her arms in the air. "Are you serious?" Harry and Ron exchanged a look.

"We'll just be going then. Maybe see you later," they said quickly before turning down a different path.

"Fridays are our night!" Hermione pointed out heatedly.

"What?"

"We always do something just the two of us on Fridays!" Hermione looked pained.

"That doesn't make them special," Pansy said, crossing her arms.

"It doesn't?! But- but I thought- Fridays are the only night of the week that we spend just the two of us," Hermione frowned. "I can't believe you would refer to it as 'nothing special.' Maybe _I'm_ just not special enough to you."

"That's not true!" Pansy interjected, but it was too late. Hermione had hurried away, her eyes filling with tears. Pansy threw her arms into the air, not sure what to do. She quickly dashed after Hermione, looking around to see where she had gone. It was too late though; Hermione was no longer in sight- she could be anywhere. Pansy went back to their room, hoping Hermione would show up soon.

Hermione wandered back to the field, replaying the game in her mind to keep from thinking about what Pansy had said. She had played well, but she had felt a need to impress Pansy during the game. She found that slightly strange, but the girl _was_ her very best friend, probably ever. Pansy just must not feel the same way; Hermione wiped a tear from where it had dripped down her cheek. She wanted Pansy to know more about her than anyone else and be more impressed by her than anyone else. She choked a laugh, finding it ironic that every thought led back to Pansy. Maybe they should go to the party, and maybe Hermione should find some new good friends- ones who felt the same way she did about them. Resolved, Hermione headed back to their room, hoping to find Pansy there.

Hermione entered the room and saw Pansy sitting on her bed, staring at the wall. Hermione was determined to ignore her but still felt a hole in her chest. She slammed the door shut and went straight to grab her towel and take a shower.

"You had better get ready. The party starts in thirty minutes," she said dryly.

"Hermione?" Pansy said, her voice cracking. Hermione paused before turning the handle, towel in hand.

"What do you want?" she asked coldly.

"Please can we just- just talk?" she questioned, clearly in anguish.

"Fine," Hermione sighed, all the wind in her chest leaving her in a single exhale. She felt suddenly deflated and weak. They both moved over to sit on Pansy's bed. "Look, Pansy, before you say anything, I think you should know that I've already decided I rely on you too much. I'm going to branch out. We should both hang out with other people more."

"No, Hermione… I- that's not what I want."

"What do you want then?"

"Well, I don't want you to be angry with me."

"I'm not, Pansy. I'm only… angry at myself and fairly sad."

"I'm so sorry, Hermione. I know Fridays are our nights- I just- I didn't know they meant that much to you. I just figured since we never really had exact plans, they weren't that big of a deal. I didn't mean it the way it had come out. You are the best friend I've ever had," Pansy gasped for breath, trying not to cry. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You mean so much to me."

Hermione tilted her chin up. "Hey, Pansy, you mean a lot to me too." She then enfolded the other girl in a hug. They sat tightly embracing on the bed for many minutes. Both girls felt undeniably happy in the arms of the other. After a few minutes, Hermione said, "I'm sorry I overreacted. Shall we take some showers and then pop into this party?"

"Alright," Pansy said. She took a deep breath. "If it's lame, we'll just come back home. I'd almost rather spend time with you anyway."

"Now, Pansy, no need to tell lies," Hermione pretended to scold.

"I'm not! There's no one I'd rather be with than you," Pansy winked, a sincerity coating her words that Hermione noticed. To take away some of the seriousness, Hermione hit her with her towel. A brief towel war began as the two girls headed to the bathroom, giggling and gasping for breath.


	9. Chapter 9

There was a lot going on at the party when the two girls arrived arm-in-arm. After taking a glance around the room, they noticed a group playing a game over by the couches and headed over. Seating around the game was limited, and Hermione immediately nabbed the small open space on one of the couches. Pansy looked around, and seeing no other seats around the game, even on the floor, decided that Hermione's lap looked like the best option.

"Oomph!" Hermione exclaimed, surprised that she had become a chair. "Hello, Pansy."

"Is this okay? There wasn't anywhere else to sit," Pansy apologised. Hermione responded by wrapping her arms around the other girl's waist. Pansy settled back against her chest more comfortably.

The game turned out to be black jack and the betting pieces were Cadbury chocolates, none of which either girl wanted to lose. Since there were already so many people playing, Pansy and Hermione played one hand together.

The first round, Michael, who was seated next to them, won. "Cheers, everyone. The pot is mine! Pansy, since you are in such a place as to do the honours, I should think a kiss on the cheek would be appropriate," he declared.

Pansy was in such good spirits that she decided to oblige. Hermione's arms tightened around Pansy as she leant over to the boy. Hermione was not sure why she felt so angry about the silly kiss.

"Are you okay?" Pansy whispered into Hermione's ear as Michael began to shuffle and all eyes turned on him.

"Yeah, I just don't think it was fair he demanded a kiss from you," Hermione attempted to justify her jealousy.

"Well, I can give one to you too," Pansy giggled, before kissing Hermione on the cheek. Hermione's cheeks turned red, and she shoved at Pansy.

"Silly girl," she shook her head.

The next round, Hermione and Pansy gained many chocolates, and after that, they had a monopoly on the chocolate winnings. Their opponents began to complain about the unfair advantage of having two minds, so Pansy and Hermione decided it was time to take their spoils and graciously leave the table.

After glancing around the party and seeing nothing of particular interest, they decided to head back to their room for the night.

The next morning, Hermione arrived at breakfast to see Harry holding his head and Ron looking decidedly ill. "Stay at the party long?" Hermione asked, the corners of her lips quirking up into a smile.

"Absolutely brilliant party last night," Ron said. "I think I will be regretting it for the rest of the week!"

"Quieter please," Harry moaned.

"Food should help with that," Hermione told them. "Drinking less last night would have helped even more."

"Why else do you think we came to breakfast?" Harry scoffed, rubbing his head some more. "Just to see and get lectured by you? Nah, there's food here." Hermione took note of the bad attitude and decided to leave him alone. She could tell him more about the disadvantages of alcohol later.

"Hello, boys!" Pansy practically yelled as she set her food down at the table. Both boys jumped about a foot into the air. They started mumbling, so Hermione and Pansy talked amongst themselves. They had planned to eat fairly quickly anyway as they had decided to head out for some early morning shopping. Ron and Harry didn't look like they could manage much conversation anyway.

Pansy left the table first, but before Hermione could follow her, Harry grabbed her sleeve.

"Hey, Mione," he whispered loudly. "Michael- you know Michael, right? Anyway, he was asking about you and Pansy."

"What do you mean?"

"You two are just friends, right?"

"Wha- oh! Yes, of course! I mean, obviously we're just friends!" Hermione said a little too quickly. "Why would he think otherwise?"

"Well, you two practically do everything together. And you are really close. I could see why he wondered. I mean- well, there's nothing wrong with it if you were… you know…" he trailed off.

"What? Dating? Don't be silly. I- we- I mean, I like boys?" Hermione seemed to be asking Harry. He just shrugged and started to look green.

"I think I'm going to be sick," he stood up and ran from the table. Hermione shook her head. Obviously, she and Pansy were just close friends. Right?

"Ron," she turned to her other friend. "You don't think Pansy and I are… you know, do you?"

"Er- no. Of course not. You'd tell us if you were, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, but- that couldn't happen could it?"

"Well, have you noticed Pansy won't touch anyone but you? She won't even let any of us give her a congratulatory hug or anything," Ron shrugged.

"Nah, Pansy's always touching me. She must touch everyone else like that too. That's the way she is, right?"

"You'd know better than me, Mione. I think I'm going to die," he moaned and slammed his head onto the table.

Hermione just shook her head before walking out to where Pansy waited.

"What took you so long?" Pansy asked.

"I don't know. The boys were just being strange," Hermione shrugged. They started walking back to their room to collect their things when Hermione asked, "Hey, Pansy, does it bother you when I touch you?"

"No, don't be ridiculous! Why?" Pansy tilted her head.

"Well, Ron said you won't let other people touch you?"

"Yes, I just don't like it- never have. I've always been that way," she shrugged. "But I do like it when you touch me." Her lopsided grin made Hermione smile and her heart soar. For some reason, this knowledge pleased Hermione a great deal. This would require some thinking about.


	10. Chapter 10

As they hopped the bus to the shops, Hermione was still deep in thought, thinking about what Ron and Harry had been saying. She had always fancied boys- or thought she had. Her experience was limited, but the reason she hadn't liked snogging or any of those boys had to be just because they weren't the right ones. A nagging voice in her head suggested that she just didn't like boys. Maybe she didn't have to define her sexuality. Maybe it was as simple as the person and not their gender that Hermione could fall in love with.

Wait- in love? Hermione could not be in love with Pansy, surely. She thought back over their relationship. Hermione had felt an undeniable pull to Pansy from the very beginning, despite the girl's off-putting negative attitude. She loved to show off for Pansy, during rugby practices and games, and Hermione hardly ever worked to impress someone. She wanted Pansy to know everything about her, and she wanted to know everything about the other girl.

And, if she was really honest with herself, she really did want to know Pansy intimately: know what her lips felt like when they pressed against her own, know which places Pansy wanted to be kissed or caressed, know which sounds she would make in the throes of passion. Hermione was startled by these revelations and immediately repressed them, since she knew there was no way Pansy could feel the same way. Despite the touching thing and Pansy's friendliness, well, Pansy didn't seem to like Hermione as more than a friend. Hermione could stay secure in their friendship and not require or desire anything more. At least, that was what she wanted to believe, and she was able to convince herself of it.

"Hey, Hermione?" Pansy nudged her. "Are you alright? It looks like you've got a lot on your mind."

"Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, Pansy," Hermione shook her head to clear it.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Er- n-no, thanks," Hermione blushed. "It's personal." Hermione almost never kept anything from Pansy, and Pansy looked a little suspicious.

"Alright," Pansy said confusedly. "If you change your mind, I'm here."

"Thanks, Pansy. You're too good for me," Hermione sighed, laying her head on Pansy's shoulder. Pansy slipped her arm around Hermione's shoulder.

"Nah, I'd say we're just about even," Pansy said. Hermione thought she felt Pansy lightly kiss the top of her head, but she wasn't sure.

Hermione sat up straight and asked Pansy, "So, what would you like to get?"

"I have a couple of things I need, but we could just do some shopping around if that is alright with you?" Pansy questioned.

"Sounds brilliant," Hermione replied.

After getting the things on their lists, they wandered down the street. When Pansy saw a pet shop, she grabbed Hermione's arm.

"Hermione!"

"What? What do you see? Are you alright?" Hermione asked, not sure what had caused the change in Pansy's demeanour.

"It's a pet shop!" Pansy squealed, unable to contain her excitement.

"Alright," Hermione replied, perplexed. "Did you want to go in?"

"YES!" Pansy yelled, before grabbing Hermione's hand and dragging her into the shop. She went straight over to the puppies and dropped Hermione's hand to press her hands against the glass.

"Like dogs much?" Hermione asked, a smile hidden in the corners of her mouth.

"Yes!" Pansy grinned. "I have a dog at home. Her name is Sallie. I miss her." She looked over her shoulder at Hermione. "Can we have a dog?"

"Er- no. Not now. They don't allow pets that big into the rooms," Hermione reminded her. She glanced around the shop. "We can get a fish though."

"Really? Can we have a fish?" Pansy clasped her hands together and smiled winningly.

"Er, of course. Let's go look. Which kind of fish would you like?"

"This will be our fish, Hermione! Our baby!" Hermione had not ever seen Pansy so excited about anything.

"Right. Let's go pick out 'our baby,' Pansy."

"How about a beta? I like betas."

"A beta sounds fantastic, Pansy. I think I see them over there." The two girls went over to the betas and looked at each one very carefully.

"I like these two," Pansy declared, pointing to a couple of the red ones.

"I like those too, but what about this one?" Hermione held out another one, a shade of white with red and blue spots of many sizes.

"Oh, yes, that is the one!" Pansy agreed.

"Alright, let's get him a bowl, some food, and maybe some plants."

"Yes, he needs a big bowl," Pansy said, walking over to the large tanks.

"I think he'll get lonely in 100 litres of water- he doesn't need a mansion. Perhaps a 5 litre bowl will do the trick," Hermione told her.

"Alright," Pansy sighed. "It'll be easier to carry that way, I suppose." They picked out a bowl, despite Pansy's worry that he wouldn't have enough space, before moving on to look at the accessories.

"Let's see, which plant do you think he would like?"

"That one!" Pansy pointed. "And he wants a statue!" she giggled.

"How about this one of Neptune?"

"Brilliant! That one is perfect," Pansy sighed. "I am so excited."

"Haha, I noticed," Hermione bumped her shoulder against Pansy's.

"Watch out! He might spill!"

"Oops, sorry!" Hermione winced. After they had bought the fish and his supplies, they went back outside to wait for the bus.

"What shall we name him?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," Pansy frowned. "I'm not very good at naming things."

"Hmm," Hermione said, thinking. "We could name him after Harry or Ron?"

"No, it would give them too much of an ego stroke," Pansy told her. "We could name him after Filch!"

"That would just be cruel!" Hermione giggled. "How about McGonagall?"

"That's a bit long. What would we use as a nickname?"

"You're right. What do you think of Daniel?"

"Simple, nice, easy to shorten. I approve!" Pansy declared. "Where did that come from?" Hermione pointed to her head.

"Where all my best ideas come from!" she winked. "I'm amazing at this idea thing!"

"Haha, sure," Pansy rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to her, Daniel, none of us do."

"Hey now!" Hermione called out as they boarded the bus.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: This chapter is edited from the original to suit a lower rating. The original can be found elsewhere.

Hermione sat straight up in bed. Her heart was pounding, her body was shaking, and she felt extremely panicked. She tried to lie down and go back to sleep, but she still felt terrified from that nightmare. A nightmare in which there was magic and a psychotic killer had been after her and all her friends, and innocent people were dying all the time for no apparent reason. He swore Harry was his mortal enemy and the only one who could stop him. She had watched as he and his minions had killed her family and her close friends. She had seen Pansy writhing in pain as though he was torturing her, though he did not physically touch her. The whole dream was horrifying, and she could not erase the images from her mind. Without giving it too much thought, she climbed down from her bed and tapped on Pansy's arm.

"Pansy?" she whispered. "Please wake up…"

"Hmm? Hermione?"

"Pansy! I had an awful nightmare… I'm scared."

"Here," Pansy lifted up the covers to let Hermione into her bed.

"Thank you." Hermione climbed into the bed. Pansy held out her arms, and Hermione snuggled into her chest. Pansy wrapped her arms around Hermione.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Pansy asked.

"No," Hermione whispered. "It was terrible." After a few minutes, the shaking stopped, and Hermione relaxed a bit more.

"Pansy?" she said softly. "Are you still awake?"

"Mhmm. I'm here."

"I feel better now. Thank you," Hermione said but didn't move.

"Good," Pansy said and kissed the top of her head. Hermione stiffened.

"Oh, I'm sorry- just a reflex," Pansy said, Hermione still very aware of Pansy's arms pressed against her back.

"That's ok," Hermione whispered. They lay in silence for a few more minutes.

"Hermione?" Pansy said softly. "There's something that I should tell you. Are you alright to talk?"

"Yeah, I feel much better now," Hermione assured her.

"I think I might…" Pansy said so quietly Hermione could not hear the last few words.

"You might what?" Hermione asked, listening to Pansy's rapid heartbeat in her chest.

"I think I might beinlovewithyou," Pansy said quickly. "I- I know it's not fair of me. I didn't think-" She was cut off by Hermione pushing up onto her elbows and looking into her face.

"Pansy," she said firmly. "I think I might be in love with you too." Neither girl seemed to know where to go next or how something they had thought about and denied for so long could be happening now. They stared into each others' eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Pansy slowly began moving her hand up Hermione's back and into her hair. She rubbed her hand into the short hairs on Hermione's neck before slowly moving her hand to Hermione's cheek and caressing it.

Hermione's eyes drifted shut. "Pansy…" she sighed. She tilted her face into Pansy's hand and lightly kissed the palm. Pansy moaned softly. Hermione opened her eyes as Pansy moved her other hand to Hermione's other cheek. Hermione moved her face down as Pansy moved hers upwards and their lips met softly, a bare brush of mouths. As though a jolt of electricity had passed between them, both girls gasped.

Immediately, their lips rejoined, touching, seeking, exploring. Soft, gentle touches were followed by harder, needier presses. Pansy's tongue sought access to Hermione's mouth, and her lips parted with a quiet gasp. As they explored each others' mouths, Pansy moved her hands back down the sides of Hermione's body, and Hermione shivered.

Pansy pulled back. "Are you alright?"

"More than alright," Hermione whispered back with a soft laugh. She pulled Pansy's face back to hers.

"May I?" Pansy breathed as she slipped her hands under Hermione's shirt.

"Yess," Hermione hissed, and she leaned back down to kiss Pansy's neck. She pressed delicate kisses onto her throat but lost her composure as Pansy slid her hands up her shirt and bunched it up around her chest. Hermione pulled back, breathing heavily, and Pansy slipped the shirt off over her head.

"Hermione…" Pansy gasped and watched her hands as they moved down Hermione's front. Hermione's eyes closed and her mouth lightly opened as Pansy explored her torso. Eventually, Pansy's lips followed her hands and she kissed Hermione's throat down to her collarbone. While she sucked on Hermione's collarbone, she reached around to her back and tried to unclasp Hermione's bra. After fiddling for a bit, she eventually got it off, saying with a laugh, "Now I know why blokes say they have such a hard time with these."

They both let out breathy giggles before their mouths found each other again. Pansy pressed their mouths together roughly, and they desperately kissed each other as though nothing else could ever satisfy them.

Hermione had just rolled them over and was beginning to explore Pansy's body when the alarm went off.

"Why is the alarm ringing?" Hermione groaned as she dropped her head onto Pansy's shoulder.

"Rugby," Pansy sighed.

"Do we have to go?" Hermione whined.

"We probably should," Pansy reasoned. "We have the game against Hufflepuff tomorrow." Hermione groaned.

"We'll continue this later," Pansy told her, kissing her cheek. "I promise."

"If we must," Hermione sighed, rolling off the bed to stand up.

"Yeah," Pansy said, grabbing Hermione's arm as she stood up and pulling the other girl against her body. "You have no idea how much I want you," she mumbled as she gave Hermione one last deep kiss before turning and getting ready for rugby.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: This is edited from the original version, which can be found elsewhere.

"Where are you, Hermione?" Harry questioned as he pulled her out of the practice game.

"At rugby practice," she answered, very confused.

"You may be here physically, but you are definitely not here mentally. Is everything alright?" Harry asked.

"Everything's very right actually. Sorry, Harry, I've just got a couple things on my mind," she said, briefly making eye contact with Pansy and blushing. Harry tried to follow her eyes, but the players were moving around too fast for him to catch what she had been looking at.

"Alright, Hermione," Harry sighed. "Get back out there, and try to concentrate!"

Rugby practice had been difficult, as both girls had been unable to concentrate. Hermione was thinking over the events and how much they had confirmed what she already wanted and how perfect it had felt, but wondering if this was really okay. What if things did not work out between the two of them? What if Pansy didn't want the same things she did? Hermione knew that they would have to talk later.

It turned out that later was much later. After practice, they rushed to breakfast and showers before they had to head to classes. There wasn't any time to talk. Hermione got back from classes first and turned on some music before lying on the rug to do some thinking. She looked over to see Daniel swimming around his bowl.

"Oh, Daniel," Hermione spoke to their new fish. "What will I do? Will Pansy want to be with me? In a relationship?"

The fish looked at her like she was crazy. "I know she said she might be in love with me," Hermione told him. "What if she just wants a physical relationship? What if she's not in love with me? What if she leaves me?" Hermione paused and looked to the fish. "No! I'm not crazy. I don't know what she'll want from me. What if she wants the normal life with a boy and a family? I don't think I could handle having her now and losing her later. What if this isn't what we're supposed to do?" If the fish could roll his eyes, he would have been rolling them. As it was, he puffed out his cheeks at her. "Fine, Daniel, I will give you a couple of flakes, but you're really not helping when you're like this."

Hermione fed the fish and then lay back on the ground, staring at the ceiling. Eventually, exhaustion from the missed sleep of the night before caught up with her, and she fell asleep.

Hermione woke up to insistent lips over hers and determined hands creeping up her shirt.

"Mmmm," Hermione breathed.

"So this is the easy way to wake you up," Pansy whispered, kissing down Hermione's throat. Her hands moved in circles on the other girl's hips.

Hermione giggled breathily, and Pansy took a short break from exploring the crevices on her throat to slip her shirt over her head before removing her own. Hermione's mind blocked all her concerns from earlier and all her concentration was directed to the girl straddling her hips, sucking on her neck, and now removing her bra.

She pulled Pansy's face up to her own as though she was the oxygen she desperately needed and rolled them over so that she was situated between Pansy's thighs. Hermione kissed her deeply and roughly, their tongues duelling until she ran out of air and pulled back to take in the sight of the girl below her. Pansy's face was red as though she was desperately short on oxygen as well. Her eyes were drooped, nearing closed, and her mouth was slightly opened. Her bare chest was heaving with each difficult breath, and her skirt was pushed up to where it was bunched around her waist.

"Hermione," she whined. The other girl responded with a smirk, still teasing as Pansy squirmed below her. Pansy reached up and touched Hermione's face, trying to pull it back to her own, but Hermione shook her head. Suddenly, they heard a noise.

"What is that?" Hermione froze.

"What is what?" Pansy said, before they heard the noise again, more urgently.

"Someone is knocking at the door!"

"What do they want?! I hate people!" Pansy groaned, putting her face into Hermione's shoulder. They heard the knocking again, accompanied by some frantic noises, and the two girls exchanged a look.

"Just a minute!" Hermione called out. Both girls quickly stood up and threw on some clothes. Pansy was mumbling some very harsh sounding things and Hermione smiled at her apologetically before cracking the door open.


	13. Chapter 13

"Er- hi," Ron stumbled as he was faced with a dishevelled and slightly glaring Hermione.

"What is it, Ron?" Hermione sighed.

"Er- there's a strategy meeting for rugby right now, remember?"

"So you came to our room to get us?!" Hermione rolled her eyes. Pansy came to the door just then.

"This had better be important, Weasley," she glared.

"Er- there's a rugby meeting?" Ron seemed unsure and kept glancing between the two girls. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Yes, you did, you red-haired, poorly dressed plebeian!" Pansy growled. Ron's eyebrows rose.

"No- sorry, Ron. We were just taking a nap, and Pansy just doesn't like being awoken," Hermione apologised, giving Pansy a hard glance. Pansy looked at Hermione questioningly before throwing her arms in the air and walking away from the door. Ron was still looking between the two girls and wondering what had happened. Pansy was almost never this surly. Hermione then slammed the door shut. Ron heard some mumbling and then a bit of silence. He was unsure what he should do, but he was feeling increasingly uncomfortable. He was about to knock at the door and tell them he was heading to the meeting without them.

He raised his hand to the door when it cracked open again. He jumped back a bit, startled at the sudden appearance of Pansy, who looked to be in a bit of a better mood. "Alright, Weasley, we will come to your silly meeting," she said graciously.

He looked startled. "Er- alright, well, we are down in the common room?" he questioned.

Pansy jolted to the side as though she had been nudged with an elbow. "And I'm sorry I called you names, Ron," she gritted through her teeth. "It was inappropriate of me."

"Apology accepted," he said, clearly surprised. He then turned and began to walk down to the meeting, while the two girls locked up the room and muttered to themselves. He couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but it sounded like Hermione was telling Pansy to "be nice."

When he walked into the meeting, he went over to his seat next to Harry. "Watch out for Pansy, mate. She doesn't take to having her naps interrupted," he whispered cautiously. Harry raised his eyebrows as though he was going to say something, but just shook his head instead.

"Alright, so we have our game against Hufflepuff tomorrow," he began once Hermione and Pansy were seated. "We decided this time that we would try to get as many of you in on the strategising in our typical last-minute attempts. We'd like to open the floor to any comments."

"Seriously?" Pansy scoffed. "Hufflepuff apologises when they tackle anyone and then sends them fruit baskets the next day. They were unquestionably defeated by Slytherin last week. I doubt we'll have a problem."

Ron and Harry exchanged a glance in which Ron seemed to say, "I told you so," and Harry responded, "I see." In doing so, they missed Hermione giving Pansy a kick to the shins from where she was sitting.

"I think," Hermione began with a directed glance to Pansy, "this meeting is a good idea, and that our captains are very nice to include us in the game planning." Pansy crossed her arms, and Hermione saw some of the girl she had first met.

"Er- thanks, Hermione," Harry said. He was as confused as Ron. "Does anyone have any ideas for how we should play this game?" Conversation began then with the whole team, and everyone got into planning the next day's game. Pansy eventually got out of her slump and entered the conversation. Her mood improved exponentially as time passed, and she got into the planning. Eventually, someone brought out a pad of paper and set it on the floor. Nearly everyone poured over it to draw out the plays.

As the rest of the team moved to gather on the floor, Pansy turned to Hermione and whispered, "Can we leave yet? I think we need to talk."

"I know," Hermione whispered back. "We have a commitment to this team though. This can't take too much longer." Hermione threaded her hand into Pansy's and gave her a squeeze.

"What do you think, Hermione?" Harry turned around to ask. Pansy quickly dropped Hermione's hand and moved it behind Hermione to rub at her lower back discretely. Her hand was invisible to the crowd on the floor. Hermione sat up straighter.

"Er- sounds good?" Hermione questioned.

"You don't sound too sure," Pansy smirked.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione sighed. "What was it again?" As Harry began to tell her their idea for a play complete with illustrations, Pansy's hand dipped a little lower under the waistband of Hermione's trousers.

"Sounds brilliant," Hermione said, her voice a little high. Harry and the others were distracted enough thinking about the play that they didn't seem to notice. When they turned back to the messy paper, Hermione turned to Pansy and knocked her hand away.

"Quit it," she hissed. Pansy just smiled wickedly. Hermione took that as her cue to move onto the floor with the group. Pansy followed after her, rolling her eyes. There they helped to devise some of their own plays and listen to the others'. The meeting lasted through dinner, and they ordered take out.

By the time Hermione and Pansy went back to their room, it was really late. They had to be up early the next morning for the game, so they decided to save the talk for the next day.

After changing into night clothes, brushing their teeth and washing their faces, Pansy climbed into her bed. Hermione hesitated.

"Would it be alright if… " she began.

"Of course," Pansy smiled and held the covers up for her. Hermione climbed into the bed and cuddled against Pansy. A few minutes later, they were both sound asleep.HeH


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Story has been edited for rating.

Barely waking up in time, both girls were harried when they arrived at the field for the game against Hufflepuff. Apparently in their haste to get to sleep, they had forgotten to set their alarms. Pansy had woken and gotten Hermione awake with just enough time to throw on some clothes and jog out to the field.

The game went as smoothly as expected. Gryffindor beat Hufflepuff easily. They had never seen anyone flinch as much before tackling an opponent, and their reticence meant that Gryffindor could easily score and that Hufflepuff offered very little resistance. In the end, they decided to postpone a victory party until later in the week as several people had Saturday night plans.

Hermione and Pansy happily left the field together, purposefully not touching. When they got back to the room, Hermione unlocked the door and walked in. Pansy followed through before grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her up against the door as it closed. She began to kiss Hermione with a welled-up passion that had threatened to make her explode during the game.

Hermione drew back, panting. "Pansy, wait…"

"What is it?" Pansy said concernedly.

"I- we should talk," she said apologetically.

"Okay," Pansy said quietly before releasing her shoulders and following Hermione to sit on the bed.

"So?" Pansy began.

"So, er- I don't know how to say this," Hermione began, squirming. "What are we? What is this?" She gestured between the two of them.

"I don't know," Pansy replied pensively. "What do you want it to be?"

"Well, are we girlfriends? Just friends with benefits?" Hermione prompted.

"I-" Pansy started.

"Is this a short-term thing or something long-term?" Hermione continued, her arms crossed.

"I want this to be something long-term. I think the appropriate title would be 'girlfriends,'" Pansy said assuredly.

"Alright, girlfriends it is," Hermione smiled brightly and relaxed a bit.

"Are we going to tell people?" Pansy asked, returning Hermione's smile.

"I- I don't know. Maybe not yet?" Hermione asked.

"Alright, so we won't tell anyone?" Pansy clarified.

"I suppose not? What do you want?"

"That sounds fine," Pansy affirmed.

"I was also wondering," Hermione blushed, "well, if- why you- when you knew you liked me as more than a friend?"

"I don't know," Pansy replied thoughtfully. "I guess I've liked you a lot for a long time now, but it wasn't until someone said something to me about it that I thought about it more. I always assumed I liked blokes, but I think it's more complicated than that."

"Right," Hermione said. "I went through about the same thing, and I think it's less the gender and more of the person that makes the difference."

"I was so afraid that you wouldn't like me," Pansy admitted.

"I know," Hermione sighed. "I felt the same way." She let out a breathy giggle.

"I felt like I had to tell you though," Pansy said. "It just wasn't fair to you not to know, especially when I was enjoying the way you were lying next to me, and you had no idea. It just didn't seem right for you not to know."

"Well," Hermione smiled, "I'm glad you told me. Look where we are now." They both stared off into space thinking about how much had changed in the last few days.

"What would you like to do now?" Pansy asked.

"I have a couple ideas," Hermione smirked. She then moved to straddle Pansy's legs and pulled Pansy's hands around her and clasped them on her back. She then put her hands on Pansy's cheeks and tilted her face up to her own. Their breaths mingled in a near kiss until Hermione gasped and pulled Pansy's face across the small gap to her own.

They kissed slowly, exploring and marvelling at their new relationship. Eventually the pace sped up and the kisses became more needy and demanding. Hermione stopped, unsure. "Pansy," she questioned, "have you done this before?"

"No, never," Pansy replied. "I think we can figure it out though." Pansy smiled and threaded her hands into Hermione's hair as their lips met in a cautious kiss. Their need was quickly rebuilding, and the kiss quickly became more and more desperate.

Eventually, Pansy collapsed on top of Hermione and muttered, "Wow."

Hermione laughed lightly. "I know…"

Pansy moved her face to Hermione's and gave her a light kiss. She stared down at her and smiled. "I don't think I've ever been so happy."

"Well, good," Hermione smirked. Pansy leaned down to give her another kiss. And then another. And another.

"I just can't stop kissing you," she giggled.

"Well, that's alright," Hermione smiled before getting another kiss. "I like getting kisses."

"Well, in that case…" Pansy said before attending to some more serious kisses.


	15. Chapter 15

"This was a good idea," Pansy said as she swung Hermione's hand.

"I thought so," Hermione smiled. "We haven't been here in a while. You can just walk there though, no need to skip." Pansy pretended to pout.

"But, Hermione, we're skipping over to the history centre!"

"Pansy, think calm thoughts. We can get there just fine by walking," Hermione rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "I don't think I've ever seen you with so much… energy."

"Well, you know…" Pansy said, slowing to a walk. She suddenly halted.

"Pansy?" Hermione said concernedly. Pansy responded by rolling into her arms and giving her a rather passionate kiss. Hermione responded for a bit before pushing Pansy back.

"Pansy!" she exclaimed, blushing. "Anyone could have seen!"

"So? There's no one about this late in the area of the history centre anyway," Pansy rolled her eyes.

"What if there had been?" Hermione asked, clearly frustrated.

"Would it be such a bad thing?" Pansy asked, her own frustration growing. "Am I that horrible?"

"No!" Hermione said quickly. "No," she repeated quietly. "I'm really happy we're together. I'm just not sure I want other people to know yet."

"Alright," Pansy soothed. "Let's keep going." They walked in silence. Hermione wasn't completely sure why she was against other people knowing about their relationship, but she just wasn't sure how they would react. She had always dealt better in facts and knowledge. This was unknown territory. What if they told people and then Pansy broke up with her? She'd be in so much pain, and everyone would know. Hermione preferred to keep these types of things personal. What if their friends didn't understand? There were simply too many things that could go wrong.

Pansy didn't seem to care, but then again, she had never seemed to care much about what other people thought. She certainly hadn't cared what Hermione thought of her when they had first met. Hermione sighed. She reached over and threaded her hand in Pansy's. When Pansy flashed a glance at her, she smiled. Pansy just looked at her severely but did not drop her hand. Hermione reached over to give her a kiss on the cheek. Pansy began to relax and smiled.

When they got to the centre, they were determined to find the hidden room. They started from the third floor, opening each door they could. When they had no luck, they moved up to the fourth.

"Pansy?" Hermione looked around. "Where are you?" They had been searching together, and Hermione had been startled to turn around and lose Pansy.

"Pansy?" she called out as she retraced her last steps. Hermione was starting to worry about her- she could have fallen down steps or something. She began opening doors in between calling her name.

Eventually, she noticed a door in the back of a small room. She could see a light coming in from under it. "Pansy?" she called again. The main room door slammed shut as she walked into the room, and she jumped into the air at the loud noise. Hermione hurriedly walked over to the door and opened it slowly.

"Boo!" Pansy yelled as she jumped out. Hermione jumped about a foot into the air and screamed in shock.

"Pansy!" she yelled as she slapped her arm. "That was evil! You frightened me!"

"Well," Pansy winked. "I can try to make it up to you." Pansy gave her a kiss on the cheek and then grabbed her arm to pull her into the room. "Guess where we are?"

"Oh! I can't believe…"

"Yup."

"We… we found it?"

"Yes, we did! We're the best!" Pansy practically squealed.

"I- I was thinking it didn't actually exist, and it was just one of those stories."

"Nope. It's real," Pansy said. "Come look!"

"Don't think this will make me forget about that scare! I'll get you back later," Hermione threatened loosely. She began to wander around the room, touching the bed frame and dresser. They were very dusty as though they had not been used in many years.

"This is slightly creepy," Hermione spoke.

"I know," Pansy affirmed. "It's similar to a haunted house. Abandoned and depressed."

"Yeah…" Hermione said. "So, how would you feel about getting out of here?"

"You read my mind," Pansy smiled. "I thought you'd have found me sooner. It was scary waiting in here by myself. I was going to try to leave the light off, but I got a bit too frightened."

"I would have too," Hermione agreed. "Well, I would not have waited in the room to frighten my friends. I am a better person than all that."

"Girlfriend," Pansy corrected. "Sure, you are. Who pushed whom into that puddle last week?"

Hermione blushed. Pansy nudged her shoulder, "Haha, let's get out of here."

After they walked out of the room, Pansy turned to Hermione. "What would you think about going out onto the roof again?"

"I would love to," Hermione said, grabbing Pansy's hand.


	16. Chapter 16

"Pansy?" Hermione whispered.

"Mmm?" Pansy vocalised sleepily.

"Can we talk?"

"Sure," Pansy muttered, rubbing at her eyes sleepily and turning over to face Hermione.

"I'm worried," Hermione whispered.

"Mm-about what?" Pansy said blearily. She glanced up at the alarm. "It's two in the morning."

"I know," Hermione said quietly. "I couldn't sleep."

"I see that," Pansy blinked. "What are you worried about?"

"What if we're doing the wrong thing?"

"So what if we are?"

"Well, what if we regret it?"

"Then we regret it," Pansy spoke with authority. "I highly doubt I ever would though."

"What if you're wrong?"

"Hermione. Honestly. Don't worry about it. Does this feel wrong to you?" Pansy asked as she lightly put her hand on Hermione's cheek and moved her face closer to give her some slowly passionate kisses. She poured love and heat into them but not in a way that would go any further. There were promises of the future and a lifetime of devotion. Pansy eventually pulled back, both girls lightly panting. "Alright?" she asked Hermione.

"Er-maybe. I- I just-" Hermione paused. "Forget it." She sighed. The idea of a relationship with Pansy had been okay when she had never thought it a possibility. In practice, she was worried that others would not approve. She hadn't known many homosexuals and did not think it would be well-received by her conservative parents. However, Pansy was right. This was something that she wanted, and it was the part of her life that felt best and most correct. She smiled. What if it was just a phase? On her part or on Pansy's? Pansy hated just about everything when they had first met. What was to stop her from disliking Hermione with the same fervour? She was back to worrying again, and she frowned.

"What is it? Do you not want to do this?" Pansy said somewhat harshly as she watched the emotions play across Hermione's face. "I'm starting to get that impression."

"No, I- it's not that. I just worry a lot. About everything," Hermione whispered, hugging her arms around her stomach. What if some day the whole thing was unrequited, and she was left alone? "I feel as though I am already lost," she said barely perceptibly.

"It'll be alright, Hermione. Let's get some sleep."

"Okay."

A few minutes later, Hermione whispered again, "Pansy?"

"Hermione."

"I still can't sleep."

"Did you try?"

"I can't. I just keep thinking about all the things that could go wrong."

"Like your girlfriend dumping you for waking her up at all hours of the morning?"

"Ri- what? No! I hadn't thought of that one," Hermione spoke worriedly.

"Calm down, I was kidding."

"What if we do break up?"

"You'll find someone new," Pansy sighed. "Someone you want to tell your friends about."

"No, Pansy. It's not like that."

"That's what it seems like. Why don't we tell them?"

"I'm- I don't- I'm just not ready yet," Hermione justified, sounding upset.

"Okay, Hermione," Pansy soothed. "I hope you are eventually though."

"Me too," she said, speaking too quietly for Pansy to hear. Hermione had felt like the stronger, more assured individual when they had first met. She felt as though now their roles had reversed. It was so much to be defining her sexuality with such an important relationship. She doubted she could ever feel so strongly about anyone. It had to be the person and not the gender, but what if it wasn't? She was not yet comfortable defining herself. Although she supposed she didn't have to at this moment, Hermione had always liked to define things and to understand exactly where they all stood. This was completely uncharted territory for her.

"Hermione, everything will work out fine. This is right. This is where we were both meant to be. Trust me," Pansy said with such conviction that Hermione believed her.

"I do," she whispered. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

"That's alright," Pansy said. "I'm over it. Besides, now I'm awake enough for this," she smiled as she leaned over and began to kiss Hermione passionately. The kisses became more and more demanding until Hermione found herself surrendering to the pleasure Pansy brought her again. This _was_ where she was meant to be- how could she doubt that?


	17. Chapter 17

"What does she think she's doing?" Hermione muttered to herself.

"Er- it looks like she's just talking to Dean. Closely," Harry responded. Apparently, Hermione hadn't spoken as quietly as she had thought.

"She's flirting with him!" Hermione burst out, tossing her arms out to the side in frustration. "Why is she doing that?"

"I don't know. They might just be having a good conversation. Why do you care so much?" Harry asked her suspiciously.

"I don't. I just didn't think she liked him, that's all," Hermione said too quickly. She glowered in Pansy's direction, thinking all manner of nasty thoughts at both her and Dean.

Harry began talking about something silly- probably rugby, but Hermione was able to tune him out. She nodded every few seconds, so he could feel validated. She was busy concentrating on the Pansy situation. It definitely appeared as though Pansy was flirting with Dean, but Hermione was not entirely sure why. Things had been going well.

It had been a couple weeks since their last real talk, which although it had taken place in the middle of the night had been sufficient, but they had both been very busy. Classes and schoolwork had taken a lot out of them as the semester was drawing to a close. Rugby practices had multiplied until their final match with Slytherin earlier in the day. Pansy had seemed a bit stressed about playing against her former housemates, but Hermione had not really had time to talk to her about it. The game had been close, and Gryffindor barely came through with a win. This party was celebrating their complete victory over the other three residence halls.

Hermione hadn't had a whole lot of time or energy for her and Pansy's relationship, but Pansy had been in the same place. It was a busy time. Hermione had been feeling better about their relationship, but then again, there hadn't been much time to think about it.

"…and that was when I put on a tutu and flashed the penguins," Harry finished.

"What was that?" Hermione mumbled distractedly.

"You aren't even listening, are you? Why are you glaring at Pansy?" Harry questioned. "Wait- do you fancy Dean?" He examined her face, but she wasn't listening to him anymore. "You do! Wow! You like Dean! I can't believe I didn't notice before." He threw his hands up in the air. "That's why you look so jealous!" Harry looked really proud of himself. Pansy reached over and touched Dean's elbow; Hermione cracked.

Hermione ignored Harry's excited exclamations and ridiculous insinuations as she brushed past on her way to confront Pansy. She stopped a few steps away, unsure of herself. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe she should let Pansy be happy with someone else.

On the other hand, this was her girlfriend. The only person she had ever really loved. Were all Pansy's promises empty? She didn't think so, and that meant Pansy liked her too. She was just trying to make her jealous (no matter that it was working). Hermione was not going to stand aside while her lover was batting her eyelashes at a boy!

Confidently now, Hermione walked over to Pansy and grabbed her arm. She pulled her roughly to the side, startling both Pansy and Ron. "What do you think you're doing?" she gritted through her teeth.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "I'm just talking to Dean. Honestly."

"Oh, of course. Talking always means you have to touch and stand closely. Why don't I just 'talk' to Dean too?!" Hermione spat in a loud whisper so as to avoid making a scene.

Hermione took the few steps back to where Dean was still standing, looking in between the two girls and trying to discern what was happening. "So, Dean," Hermione purred, grabbing his arm and stepping closer. "You did so well out there on the field today. Have you been working out outside of practices?"

"Well, er…" Dean seemed completely confused. He was still looking back and forth between Hermione and Pansy, who was now glaring.

"Excuse us, Dean," Pansy grabbed Hermione's outside arm and pulled her back over to the wall. As they walked away, Harry made his way over to Dean.

"This isn't funny, Hermione."

"I know; I didn't think it was either, Pansy. I don't want to see my girlfriend," Hermione said very quietly under her breath, "flirting with other people!" Somehow, though it was said quietly, there was still a lot of passion and venom injected into it.

"Oh, you mean the girlfriend you don't want anyone to know about?" Pansy questioned in a whisper, crossing her arms.

"Pansy…" Hermione let out a sigh, and her anger rushed out with it. Suddenly, she realised that they were in a full room and had attracted the attention of several of their friends. "Er…"

Harry was talking to Dean in quiet undertones. "It's okay, Hermione," Harry called out to her. "Dean doesn't really like Pansy that way." He paused. "You still have a chance with him," he whispered loudly in a way that failed at subtlety.

"Oh, my," Hermione blushed, putting her face into her hands. "Er- thanks, Harry," she called back to him with a severe look, clearly telling him not to say anymore. Pansy turned to her and failed to stifle a giggle. Hermione glared at her.

"Oh, c'mon, Hermione. You have to admit that was pretty funny, right? You and Dean?" Pansy's face broke in a half smile that she was trying to hide.

"No," Hermione said seriously. "This isn't funny at all." Pansy sobered. "Do you wish you were out there seeing other people? Is that what this is about?"

"N-no," Pansy said, taken aback. "Should we talk about this elsewhere?"

"No," Hermione replied. "We're doing this now."

"Right, well, don't raise your voice at all or you'll give all the eavesdroppers something to talk about for weeks," Pansy said quietly. They both paused for a second, Hermione glaring and Pansy thinking.

"Look, Hermione," Pansy sighed. "You barely have any time for me and you don't want anyone to know about us. Do you still want to be in this relationship?"

"Of course I do," Hermione softened. "Things have just been busy with finals in a few weeks and the like."

"Only you would start studying so early," Pansy said fondly.

"But that doesn't excuse you to flirt with other people!" Hermione said, anger returning to her voice.

"I was making a point," Pansy argued. Just then, Harry turned up the music, clearly trying to disguise Pansy and Hermione's conversation in the corner.

"Oh yes. Everyone saw the point of that. Just how much do you like Dean, Pansy? Elucidate it some more for me," Hermione spoke bitingly.

"I- I don't like Dean," Pansy said, her own anger growing. "I'm not just some dirty secret you have. I deserve more than that! And if you can't see that, I will find someone who will!"

"Oh, yeah?!" Hermione gritted out through her teeth.

To be continued…


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Story edited for rating.

"_O__h, yeah?!" Hermione gritted through her teeth._

Pansy suddenly found herself pressed against the wall, Hermione's body lined up against her own. Hermione's mouth descended to deliver a rough kiss. Her lips felt as though they were bruising under the assault, but Pansy found herself responding to the possessive kisses. Hermione began to roughly move her hand up Pansy's shirt, forgetting about the party all around them. As Pansy began to move her arms around Hermione, the passion behind the kiss shifted to lust more than anger. Hermione began to move her lips down Pansy's neck, leaving marks where she sucked and bit her way down to Pansy's collarbone. Pansy threw her head back against the wall. Hermione pulled back to hiss, "You are mine."

Pansy nodded, looking into Hermione's eyes. "I- I'm sorry," she stuttered quietly in a whisper only Hermione could hear. "I love you, you know. I don't care about anyone else. I was… just getting frustrated with the situation. I really am sorry, Hermione."

"I'm sorry as well," Hermione smiled bashfully. "So you really love me?" she whispered.

"Yes, but maybe we should talk about this privately," Pansy said, bringing them both back to the present. Hermione abruptly noticed the abnormally loud music that sounded vacant in the silenced party.

"Uh oh," Hermione said, blushing crimson and laying her forehead on Pansy's shoulder. "Please tell me they aren't all staring at us."

"They are," Pansy grinned. "Only about half of them looked shocked though. I can see the crisps Ron was eating."

Hermione groaned. "Can I not be here anymore?" she mumbled.

"Wow, hottest fight I've ever seen!" Michael called out. "Feel free to repeat anytime!" Hermione groaned again. Pansy gave him the finger. The silence that had fallen was broken as many began to laugh, and people began to talk amongst themselves again.

"Alright," Pansy said. "Let's get out of here."

"Okay," Hermione said. "I don't want to look. They're all still staring, aren't they?"

"Nah," Pansy lied with a smirk. Hermione looked up and groaned. Pansy took her hand and kissed her lightly. "Let's go."

They rushed out of the party and back to their room, ignoring other people's questions and comments.

As soon as they got back to the room, Pansy grabbed Hermione and began to kiss her with a gentle fervour. The kiss was both cautious and demanding, Pansy's hands cupped around Hermione's face. Hermione moved her hands to rest on Pansy's hips, and she slowly pushed her back towards the bed. As Pansy sat down and Hermione leaned in to follow, she bumped her head on the top bunk. Hermione pulled back, holding her head.

Hermione sat down on the bed next to Pansy. Her aching head and Pansy's giggling ruined the moment from before. "So, what was that thing you said earlier?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I can't believe we won?" Pansy questioned with a smirk.

"No, you snot," Hermione chided. "After we were fighting- and, well, you know what I mean."

Pansy reached over and grabbed Hermione's hand from her forehead, bringing it down and holding it. She paused until Hermione was facing her and searched her eyes for a minute or two. "I love you, Hermione," she finally said. She put so much passion and deliberation into those words that it took away all of Hermione's doubt.

"I love you too, Pansy," she replied with a bursting grin.

"I know," Pansy smiled. "I could tell, but it's still nice to hear it." She wrapped her arms around Hermione and squeezed. Hermione laughed. She began to think more about what had happened earlier. "Well, I think everyone knows now," Hermione winced.

"Well, not quite _every_one, but I am sure they will soon. We made quite a scene," Pansy smiled. "You know you didn't have to do that though, right? I had just meant letting some of our close friends know."

"Yeah," Hermione shrugged bashfully. "I didn't really think it through- for once in my life."

"Haha, that's alright," Pansy smiled. "I liked it."

"Well, good," Hermione blushed. "So I-" Hermione began, but was cut off by Pansy pushing her back until she was lying down and then crawling on top of her. Pansy placed light kisses on her forehead, and Hermione closed her eyes. Pansy moved down to kiss her eyelids and her nose. These small, delicious kisses told Hermione of the love and devotion that she had wanted to receive and to return. Then, after a loaded pause, she placed feathery kisses onto Hermione's lips. Hermione gasped, and Pansy took the opportunity to deepen the kisses. Hermione arched against her and wrapped her arms around Pansy's waist.

Slowly, she began to slide Pansy's shirt up. Pansy pulled back for a couple seconds so that Hermione could pull it over her head. Their mouths quickly met again, more demanding than before. While they were exploring each other's mouths, Pansy began to undo the buttons on Hermione's shirt. Hermione quickened the process by beginning to undo some of them herself. Finally, Hermione sat up and Pansy pushed the shirt slowly down her arms and entirely off. Hermione rejoined her mouth to Pansy's, threading her fingers into the hairs on the back of her neck. Their need was quickly building and soon the rest of their clothes joined the shirts on the floor.

--

"Mmm," Pansy sighed, wrapping her arms around Hermione's waist. She kissed Hermione's forehead. They lay in a pleasant silence for several minutes.

"Don't ever leave me, okay?" Hermione whispered into Pansy's ear.

"Never," Pansy whispered in reply, turning her head and kissing her lightly. "Never."

_Fin__._


End file.
